Drip trays are used in a variety of situations to contain liquids. Drip trays are used to catch oil when changing an oil filter on an engine. Drip trays are used to catch drilling fluids when a drilling rig used in drilling an oil or gas well trips a drill string out of a borehole.
It is essential that a drip tray be of a size that is sufficient to cover the entire area where leakage may occur; to ensure that not just a portion but all drips are contained within the tray. It is also important that the drip tray be strong enough to be withstand dumping, without buckling under the weight of the entrapped liquids.
Larger coverage areas, therefore, require a drip tray that is large and heavy. Once filled with liquids, these large drip trays present handling problems. In order to dump large drip trays, a team of men is required or lifting equipment. By way of example, when a 4 foot.times.8 foot drip tray made from 1/2 inch thick steel plate is filled with liquid, it weighs tons.